Method for stuffing olives



May 5, 1953 G. W. l ASHLOCK, JR

METHOD FOR STUFFING OLIVES Original Filed llay 31, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNE Y May 5, 1953 G. w. AsHLocK, JR

METHOD FOR STUFFING oLIvEs Original Filed May 31, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nh m@ LA mm o INVENTOR. eofye Wl/Ir/v/oolk H TTOR/VE mm um QN May 5, 1953 G. w. AsHLocK, JR

METHOD FOR STUFFING oLIvEs original Filed mayl s1, 1949 4 Sheets-Shee 3 lumi-MH.

INVENTOR. l George? W /lshlockJL' BY 44.4.1 4 ArropNsY May 5, 1953 G. W. ASHLOCK, JR

METHOD FOR STUFFING OLIVES Original Filed May 51, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 n@ SQ A kJ c V. mm .M .lfm P man m VW 7 w. n

Patented May 5, 1953 `2,637,653 n Ms'rnon Foa STUFFI'NG' oLIvEs George'W.Ash1bck,Jr., oakland, Calif.

`Original application May 31, 1949, Serial No. `96,324. Divided and this application April 6,

1950, SerialNo.' 154,339

' rclim. (c1. 994-100) This invention relates to a novel4` method for placing a piece of sheet pimento into a previously pitted olive.

The stuiiing of olives with a piece of sheet pimento has heretofore been carried on by hand. Necessarily, the operation is slow'and time-'consuming and, as a consequence, these articles are relativelyy expensive. In accordance with the present invention, I provide a novel method which can be utilized successfully to place a piece of sheet pimento in a previously stoned olive.

It `is, in general theqbroad object of thefpresent inventionto providea novel method forthe placement of `a piece .of sheet pimento in a stoned olive. y. H

- The inventionfincludes other objects and features of advantage, some of which,- together "With the` foregoing, will `appear hereinafter wherein the present preferredmethod of placementof a piece of sheet pimento in apreviously stoned` olive will be disclosed.

-In the drawings accompanying and forming Y a part hereof,

Figure lis a side elevationof one form` of a complete machine for practicing the present in- ,pitted olive.

Figure 6 is -a gestion alng the une s --'in Figure l.

Figures` '7, 8 and 9 are respectively sections taken along the lines 'l--1, 8-8 and 9 9 in Figure 1 and showing the relation of the belts utilized to convey the stufng material toward the object stuing station. y

Figure l is a side elevation partly in section through. a portion ofl the drive mechanism.

`Figure 11 is a section taken along the line VH---l l in Figure 10. i

Figure 12 is a view taken along the line ILL-*I2 `in AFigure 5. i

Figure 13 is a view alongthe line l3l3 of Figure 2- Figures 14, v15 and 16 are operational Views illustrating therelation of the various parts dur ing formation ofthe charge ofthe sheet pimento and its placement in the prepared olive;

Frame The drive Tosupply power to the machine and to operate the various mechanisms thereof in a timed relationship, means are provided for driving the various mechanism including power input shaft 3| suitably journalled on uprights 32 secured to the'base'2l. Mounted upon shaft 3| for rotation therewith are camsr 33 and34. A"l bell crank 36 is hinged upon frame as at 3l, the bell crank` having a cam follower 38 thereon engaged with cam 33. A rod 3S extends from an arm 4| on the bell crankv 36 to a lever 42 hinged as at 43 upon upright 24. Another rod 4E is eX- tended from lever 42 to the clutch mechanism,

generally indicated at 4l' and to be presently described in detail.

` Mechanism for moving sheet pimento into a positioned object is generally indicated at 5l and being reciprocated with `respect to frame member lturn hinged as at y6! upon a standard 52 mounted upon the base 2l.

" -The machine also includes means for advancing a continuous supply of articles' to be stuied. In the form of the device shown in the drawing, this is provided bya circular table li mounted for rotation with a shaft 12, which is vertically positioned ina standard or column structure 13 in which are provided `bearings '14. A circular rachet plate 15 is mounted upon the shaft 12, the plate having a plurality of teeth il provided about its periphery. A pawl 'i3 is hinged as at 'i9 upon an arm 8l extending from a collar 82 tting rotatably on shaft l2. f A spring 83 extends from the arrnili to upright Bil. Another spring 84 extends from the arm 3i to pawl 18 toretain the pawl in engagement with the rachet plate. A rod 86 is slidably mounted in standards 81 on the base 2l, the rod being held in engagement by spring 83 with the arm 8i and with a foot 88 provided upon an extension 89 on the bell crank 3S so that movement of circular table 1| is coordinated with other operations of the machine. A brake band secured to the base 2i and surrounds a element 95 on the shaft i2 to provide a i the shaft whereby the latter stops its rotation immediately the pawl cease-s rotational movement. This ensures that the e moves through the same arc upon each movement or" the pawl.

Clutch mechanism 93, one or more of the rollers jamming between the driven outer` ring 93 Aand the annular plate 99.to impart definite positive drive to the shaft 98. Plate 92 carries an extension |96 thereon having an upstanding ear |91 .through which rod 46 extends slidably.

The degree of rotational movement imparted to shaft 99 by the `clutch mechanism-41 is lregulated by adjusting nuts V|98 on `the end of rod 46 to space these from the ear |91. 'Gne of the bolts 94 butts against frame member -26 under the bias of spring I i, 4the spring being extended between an extension-H2 on a frame fmember -26 and another one of the -bolts 94, as appears in Figure l. To vary the extent 'of motion imparted upon reciprocation of rod 46, the position lof nuts 08 on rod 95 -is varied. This vper-- mits the rod to move upwardly .to any desired extent so thatthe rod can be reciprocated with a constant length stroke. However, when the rod is moved downwardly and in the direction of the arrow in Figures 1 and 10, the nuts yare brought yinto engagement with the ear |91 and the clutch is rotated in a counter-clockwise d-irecticn to rotate shaft 98 in a counter-clockwise direction and spring is lengthened. As soon as rod 4S reaches the end ofr its fstroke,-it starts its return movement, spring rotating -ihe clutch device in a clockwise direction untilbolt 94 strikes against the frame member 29. Any-desired extent of lost motion and, in turn, fof rotation of clutch r41, can be provided between the rod 46 and the clutch 41 by afi-1u. ing nuts |99 with respect to ear H31. In ythis manner, the Vstuiiing material can 'beefed stepwise and in 1a desired degree ofadvance.

The pimento feeding mechanism 'Means are provided for feeding pimento. As is well known, pimento is a relatively tough material which occurs, as prepared, in pieces of a regular shape and sir/e. Shaft 98 carries two spaced wheels |2I thereon rotatable about a horizontal axis and about which are provided belts |22 and |23, the belts being positioned hori- Zontally at one end of the machine (right hand end, Figure ll and extending forwardly to pass about wheels |255 at the forward-end ofthe machine. the wheels4 |29 being positioned for rotation about a vertical axis. Between the horizontal position of the 4belts as they pass about wheels |2| and the verticalposition about wheels .npon Yplate |26, the belts move through a continually changing relationship such that they advance gradually toward one another, being supported in this by guide plates |3| and |32, supporting respectively belts |22 and |23; the pimento is fed upon the belts from shelf |33 (Figure 9) and into abutment with a guide plate |34. A5 the belts I'advance .toward one another, the pimento is gradually caused to be folded upon itself. To assist the pimento in this and to ensure that 1t is formed into a compact, folded mass, a guide ,137| ris provided which, with guide |34, is mounted upon adjustable brackets |38, secured to the guide plates |3| and |32. Immediately ahead of .the wheels .|26, =a 'guide plate |4| is interposed between `the belts, being adjustably mounted |32 by bracket |42, to force the pimento downwardly into a compact mass and into the U-shaped guide and stunng charge forming pocket |43 and which is shown in place in Figure 12. The `pocket |43 guides the pimento on yafter it has left the belts and delivers it in position for stuing.

The article positioning means Table 1| 'includes Aa plurality of receptacles |45 thereon; when olives are to be stuffed, each receptacle can have a configuration such as is taught in my prior Patent No. 2,250,518 wherein each receptacle has the internal shape of a truncated cone with an included ang-le between 32U and 42. The articles to be stuffed may be placed in each receptacle by hand or by any suitable feeding mechanism. To assist in positioning an article for stufiing, I provide a locating pin |41 carried upon arm 43, the latter being hinged as at |49 upon a removable member |5I, secured by screw |52 to the plate 1|. The presence of the pins is, of course, undesirable during the stuiiing operation and each pin 'is accordingly moved into and out of its associated cavity by a suitable track |53 mounted upon arms |54 from the standard 13. The track extends arcuately downwardly at each end |56, as appears in Figure l, and the pins are normally presented in an article supporting position between points A and B during the counter-clockwise rotation of the table in Figure 2.

The stufng mechanism The stufng mechanism 5| includes a hollow plunger |9| movable upwardly in a suitabie supporting structure |62 mounted upon vertical. frame member 22. The plunger |8| carries a transverse cross member |63'having two vertically extending arms |64 thereon, each'oarrying a roller Hit. Hinged upon the vertical frame member |52 at |69 are a pair of lling material formingpmembers |98 biased by springs |11 into an open position, namely that in which these members appear in Figure .1.6. Each of the members includes a semi-cylindrical cavity |12 therein through which a plunger |13 is reciprocated, the latter being mounted for sliding in the hollow plunger |6| and in the charge guide pocket |43; the normal position of the plunger is as is shown in Figure 4 wherein the plunger |13 is in such position that collar |14 thereon is above the cross member |63 and the end rests on base 2|. As the cross member is raised, wheels |69 move the charge forming members |68 from that position in which they appear in Figure l5 and wherein the members are closed. When collar |14 is engaged by the cross member |53, the continued upward movement of the cross member is effective to force the plunger through the charge forming members to eject the charge of sheet pimento. That portion of each semi-cylindrical cavity |12 defining the inner longitudinal edges of the charge forming members i6!! and adjacent to the belts |22 and |23 is' provided with a knife edge Ii to sever the charge in the cavity from that which is fed into the cavity.

Retention during stuing To retain an article in position during placement of the charge, frame member 22 includes an extension |8| thereon having a lever |82 hinged a-s at |83. A rod |84 extends upwardly from the cross member |63 and a spring |35 is extended between a collar |81 on the rod |84 and that end of lever |83 which fits over the rod |84. The other end of lever |82 is mounted between nuts |88 carried upon a rod |89, the latter being reciprocably mounted in extension |8| and carrying a cup |9| on the end thereof. As the cross member is raised, cup ISI is lowered into position to retain an article.

Operation With the shaft 3| being rotated by a suitable prime mover, rod 45 is reciprocated to impart a stepwise movement to belts |22 and |23. An operator places a strip of pimento upon the belts so that, as the belts advance from the loading station at the right hand side of Figure 1 to the charge forming and stung station adjacent the left hand side of Figure 1, the stuing material is gradually folded upon itself and compacted into a charge of material. This is particularly desirable in the handling of pimento inasmuch as the inner surface of pimento is rough and uneven while the other side is smooth and glossy. By folding the material upon itself, the smooth, glossy and attractive surface of the material is placed outermost so that the pimento slips easily into an article into which it is to be stuffed, presenting a more pleasing appearance and handling far more readily.

As an operator places articles to be stuffed, such as olives, in the several receptacles and upon the projecting pins |41, the table 'Il is advanced toward and into the stufling position wherein the pins are out of the way. As each article is received, a piece of sheet pimento is cut off from that in the charge forming or guide pocket |43 by the knife edges |11 on members |68 as these are forced together, the charge is compressed and formed into a plug of desired shape; with a semicylindrical cavity in each of th-e charge forming members |68, a cylindrical plug is formed. Of course, the charge formed can be of any desired cross sectional shape by varying the cavity in each of the charging members.

The articles to be stuffed are held in position by cup ISI and the plunger |13 forces the charge into position. The table 'H is advanced stepwise and in time with the stepwise advance of the charge forming material and its cut-off and formation from the continuous supply on 'the belts. After an article has been stuffed, the pin associated with the receptacle is returned to its article receiving position by engagement with the cam track |53. If the article has been stuffed, the article is knocked off the table by the return of the pin |47 into the cavity so that the operator knows the placement of an unstuffed article is required, the stuffed articles being collected.

From the foregoing, I believe it will be apparent that I have provided a novel method for the placement of sheet pimento in previously pitted olives.

This application is division of application Serial No. 96,324, filed May 31, 1949.

I claim:

A method of stufling pitted olives with a plug comprising supporting a series of sheets of pimento in and end-to-end coplanar relation to provide a continuous length of pimento having a width not greater than twice the longest dimension of the plug to be formed, each sheet having a smooth at face and a rough irregular face, the series of sheets being positioned with their respectice rough faces uppermost, advancing the length of pimento toward a stufng station, folding the length of pimento gradually upon itself as it advances toward the stuing station to provide a flat U-strip wherein the previously spaced terminal edges are adjacent one another and the smooth at face is outermost and the rough face portions of the length of pimento are in abutment and extend from a common straight terminal fold line, compressing that end portion of the advancing U-shaped strip which is at the stuffing station to form a plug thereof at the stuffing station having opposite side portions extending normal to said terminal fold line, cutting the .so-formed plug from the U-shaped strip transversely to the major axis and at right angles to said `terminal fold line, and stuing the severed plug into a pitted olive cavity at the stuffing station with the terminal fold line and exposed at the otherwise open end of the fruit cavity.

GEORGE V. ASHLOCK, JR.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,133,054 Newcomb Mar. 23, 1915 2,384,429 Ball Sept, 11, 1945 2,436,463 Van Dellen et al. Feb. 24, 1948 2,597,933 Hungate May 27, 1952 

